Certified Child Life Specialist?

[southerngirl92]

I am looking into becoming a CCLS, I was just wondering, as nurses, specifically pediatric nurses, what's your opinion on that profession?

I'm 23 years old, I was born with a boat load full of defects and I've been dealing with them my entire life, colostomy, mitrofanoff, spina bifida, etc. I've always been amazing around kids and I've always wanted to work in a hospital where I could use my medical situation to help others. My parents always suggested that I become a nurse, let me say, I have the UTMOST RESPECT for you nurses, I could never do your job. I have just never had any interest in becoming a nurse, maybe it's the fact that I'm always afraid of screwing something up and always second guessing myself, a big no-no, I would assume, in the nursing world. I know my place and nursing isn't it.

Child life seems like a really good fit for me though, I just want to know that I'm not going to be looked down on by nurses and doctors, because let's face it, y'all are top of the food chain in the hospital IMO. While doing some research on the profession I came across a post on another website and the person basically said that hospitals don't need CCLS, that volunteers could do that job for free. Is that true? Do people really feel that way?

I'm trying to figure out if this is something that I should spend a lot of money on an education for, or get a degree in business and just volunteer my time at the local children's hospital. I feel very strongly about it though, that's what's making my decision so hard.

Give me your opinions, good and bad. Thank you for taking the time to read all of this (sorry!).

[Galendria]

I worked as a pediatric nurse for 7 years before relocation made me move back into the world of adult nursing. First of all, I'm happy that the nurses in your life made such an impact on you, and have utmost respect for you in that you are endeavoring to make the experiences of other children with conditions such as yours better. That's awesome!!

As to your question about child life specialists. First of all, volunteers cannot do everything they do. At the hospital I worked at our child life department had 3 tiers. At the bottom was volunteers who would pass out toys and books to rooms and help out in the play rooms. 2nd tier was child life assistants who supervised the play rooms, made sure toys were disinfected to specifications, and would play with children in their rooms at the request of nurses and/or families. At the top were specialists and they were generally bachelors or sometimes even masters degree. They had tools such as tablets, pictures, etc. to prep children of all ages for a variety of surgeries and procedures. They would assist during procedures, prep siblings on what they would see in ICU rooms before they visited, offer grief assistance to siblings, etc. Our children's hospital was attached to an adult hospital, so they would sometimes prep the children of adult patients too. We were fortunate to have *tons* of donations from area businesses and families so I'm not sure that all children's hospitals have such a well financed department. Others concerns about job security are valid. We had several nurses who tried to get jobs as specialists first and the market was just too slim for them, but on the flip side there are therapists who I friended on online media who have relocated to other cities and found jobs as child life specialists there without too much difficulty. Bottom line, it is a rewarding and needed career and if its something that appeals to you I would suggest that you at least look into it at depth. Best of luck!!

[llg, PhD, RN]

I agree with most of the previous posters. Our Child Life Specialists are great ... but they are not paid well and there are very few jobs available for them. If you go that route, I recommend that your education include preparation for other, related careers as well as Child Life so that you have a chance at other jobs in the event that you can't find a Child Life position.